Suspended display package

ABSTRACT

An open-front box containing an article for sale has a vertical back wall provided near its top with a central pair of laterally spaced vertical slots. The box is enclosed in a transparent plastic film. A vertically disposed hanger made from a flat resilient plastic sheet is provided with a lower portion having a central area engaging the back of the film between the slots. Tabs projecting laterally from opposite sides of this central area extend through slits in the film and the slots in the box to connect the hanger and box together. The hanger also has an upper portion extending above the box and provided with an opening for receiving a support for the hanger.

United States Patent Gwozdz [54] SUSPENDED DISPLAY PACKAGE [72] Inventor: Joseph W. Gwozdz, Clark Summit,

[73] Assignee: McKinney Manufacturing Company,

Scranton, Pa.

221 Filed: June 4,1971

21 Appl.No.: 149,988

52 us. (:1 ..206/4s.33, 206/DIG. 8, 229/52 A 51 Int. Cl ..B65d 65/16, B65d 25/22 [58] Field of Search ..206/45.33, DlG. 8; 229/52 A [56] References Cited g UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,923,452 8/1933 Neumiller ..206/4S.33 2,979,192 4/1961 Blonder ..206/DIG. 8 3,570,665 3/1971 Houston ..229/52 A FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 655,770 1/1963 Canada ..229/52 A 1 1 Oct. 3, 1972 Primary Examiner-Leonard Summer Attorney-Brown, Murray, Flick & Peckham 1571 ABSTRACT An open-front box containing an article for sale has a vertical back wall provided near its top with a central pair of laterally spaced vertical slots. The box is enclosed in a transparent plastic film. A vertically disposed hanger made from a flat resilient plastic sheet is provided with a lower portion having a central area engaging the back of the film between the slots. Tabs projecting laterally from opposite sides of this central area extend through slits in the film and the slots in the box to connect the hanger and box together. The hanger also has an upper portion extending above the box and provided with an opening for receiving a support for the hanger.

5 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PATENTED URI 3 I972 3 8 95 41 8 JOSEPH W. GWOZDZ wf /ill w ATTORNEYS 3 I v INVENTOR SUSPENDED DISPLAY PACKAGE It is common practice to display small articles for sale by mounting them on cards and covering them with a transparent plastic film or bubble. The upper ends of the cards are provided with openings so that they can be hung on hooks or suspended from rods. Such an arrangement is not suitable when an article is housed in a box that has an open top or front, with the box enclosed in a transparent plastic film wrapping, such as a heat-shrink film. Since the entire box is sealed in the plastic wrapping, there is nothing at the top for suspending the box from a hook or the like. Such packages therefore are generally laid or stacked on a counter, but this does not display them satisfactorily.

It is among the objects of this invention to provide a display package formed from an open-front box enclosed in a transparent film, which can be suspended from a hook or rod, which remains completely sealed until it is readied for display, and which permits a person to quickly and easily prepare the package for dis' p y- The preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which FIG. 1 is a rear view of the package with part broken away;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical cross section taken on the linev Il-II of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a horizontal cross section taken on the line lIllIl ofFIG. l; and I FIG. 4 is a front or back view of the hanger alone.

Referring to the drawings, a substantially upright box made of cardboard or the like has a vertical back wall 1, top and bottom walls 2, side walls 3 and an open front. The box contains one or more articles 4 that are for sale. The box is wrapped or surrounded by a thin plastic sheet or film 5 that is transparent so that the contents of the box can readily be seen through the area of the film that covers the open front of the box. A heat sealed shrink film is preferred for this purpose because it will fit the box snugly and form a flat window for its open front.

Before the box is wrapped in the film, the back wall 1 is provided near the top with a centrally located pair of laterally spaced vertical slots 7 spaced equal distances from the opposite sides of the box. These slots are covered by the transparent film so that the box remains sealed. It is in this sealed condition that the box and its contents are shipped to the dealer who will sell the packaged article. According to this invention, a hanger 8 is also sent along with each box. This hanger is shown alone in FIG. 4. It is a thin sheet-like member formed from a normally flat resilient sheet made of a suitable plastic. The hanger can be bowed or bent, but when released it will spring back into a flat plane. The hanger has a lower portion that is composed of a central area 9, from the opposite sides of which tabs 10 project laterally in opposite directions. Above this lower portion there is an upper portion 11 that extends laterally over the tabs but is spaced a short distance from them by means of a relatively narrow central part 12 joined to the central area of the lower portion. The ends of the tabs preferably are tapered to a point.

When the dealer wishes to display the box and its contents, he takes the hanger and with one of its pointed tabs he pierces the film covering one of the box slots 7 to form a slit. He can then insert the tab through the underlying slot and direct it laterally along the front surface of the back wall toward the adjacent side of the box. He then bows the hanger along a vertical line sufficiently to permit him to use the other hanger tab to pierce the film over the other box slot. As this tab enters that slot and the hanger is released, the hanger will flatten and force the second tab laterally toward the adjacent side of the box. Both tabs are now inside the box, with the central area 9 of the lower portion of the hanger against the outer surface of the covering film as shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3. Even though the film has been punctured by the hanger tabs, the box remains substantially sealed because the tabs close the slits that they formed in the'film. If desired, the hanger can be installed at the factory because, being flexible, it will not interfere with normal packing for shipment.

The upper portion of the hanger extends above the box and is provided with an opening for receiving a suitable support. Preferably, the opening is in the form of a horizontal slot 14 that has a central recess 15 in its upper wall. An opening of this shape permits the hanger to be hung on a hook, or on a more or less horizontal rod, or on a horizontally extending strip or a pair of laterally spaced horizontal wires. The suspended package displays its contents very nicely.

Although there is little likelihood of the hanger and box becoming separated from each other, they can be positively locked together by providing the tops of the tabs with notches l7 beside the narrow central part 12 of the slotted upper portion of the hanger. After the hanger has been inserted in the box slots and pulled upwardly relative to the box, these notches will receive the back wall and the film at the upper ends of the slots as shown in FIG. 1, so that the hanger cannot possibly pull out. of the slots unless the hanger tabs are first moved downwardly in the box, which of course will not occur as long as the box is suspended from the hanger. On the other hand, when the package is purchased by a customer, the hanger can easily be removed, if desired, to facilitate wrapping of the package.

If desired, a stiff sheet 19 of cardboard or the like of substantially the same size as the inside of the box can be placed in the box close to the back wall, where it can be held by frictional engagement with the top and bottom and side walls or by other means. This sheet engages the tabs 10, which are sandwiched between it and the back wall, and thereby conceals them. It also compels the tabs to lie flat against the back wall.

According to the provisions of the patent statutes, I have explained the principle of my invention and have illustrated and described what I now consider to represent its best embodiment. However, I desire to have it understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described.

I claim:

I. A display package comprising an open-front box having a substantially vertical back wall provided near its top with a central pair of laterally spaced vertical slots, a transparent plastic film snugly surrounding the box and provided with slits registering with said slots, and a vertically disposed plastic hanger in the form of a normally flat resilient sheet member, the hanger being provided with a lower portion having a central area engaging the back of said film between said slits, tabs projecting laterally from opposite sides of said central area and extending through said slits and slots into the box, and an upper portion extending upwardly above the box from said central area and provided above the box with an opening for receiving a support for the hanger.

2. A display package according to claim 1, in which the tops of said tabs are provided with notches receiving said back wall and film at the upper ends of said slots, whereby to lock the tabs in the slots.

3. A display package according to claim 1, in which said opening is in the form of a horizontal slot with a central recess in its upper wall.

4. A display package according to claim 1, in which 

1. A display package comprising an open-front box having a substantially vertical back wall provided near its top with a central pair of laterally spaced vertical slots, a transparent plastic film snugly surrounding the box and provided with slits registering with said slots, and a vertically disposed plastic hanger in the form of a normally flat resilient sheet member, the hanger being provided with a lower portion having a central area engaging the back of said film between said slits, tabs projecting laterally from opposite sides of said central area and extending through said slits and slots into the box, and an upper portion extending upwardly above the box from said central area and provided above the box with an opening for receiving a support for the hanger.
 2. A display package according to claim 1, in which the tops of said tabs are provided with notches receiving said back wall and film at the upper ends of said slots, whereby to lock the tabs in the slots.
 3. A display package according to claim 1, in which said opening is in the form of a horizontal slot with a central recess in its upper wall.
 4. A display package according to claim 1, in which said upper portion extends laterally over said tabs but is spaced therefrom by a relatively narrow central part joined to said central area of said lower portion, the tops of said tabs are provided with notches beside said narrow central part receiving said back wall and film at the upper ends of said slots to lock the tabs in the slots, and said tabs have pointed outer ends for puncturing said film covering the slots.
 5. A display package according to claim 1, including a stiff sheet inside the box close to said back wall and engaging said tabs. 